UNTIL ANGELS CLOSE MY EYES
Chapter Five

When Rose arrived at school the next morning, the thought of seeing Jack again made her stomach flutter with nervous anxiety. She wished they had met under different circumstances, but unfortunately, that wasn’t the case. She smiled to herself, remembering how juvenile the ride back on Jack’s handlebars seemed, and how sixties, but he was so sweet and kind that it didn’t matter to her. With a hug and a wave, they said good night and parted ways.

"Hey, Jack!" Rose called before he went inside his door, and he turned. "Would you…um…like to eat lunch with me tomorrow, maybe? We could talk more?" She felt her heart beating rapidly, noticing the expression of surprise but pleasure on his face afterwards.

"Sure," he replied, beaming. "Senior quad, right?" She nodded. "I saw you sitting with Jo and Meg. They won’t mind if a guy joins in, will they?"

She smirked. "Are you kidding?" she asked, and then remembered that Meg had gone out with Jack at one point, so it would be a little awkward for her. "I’m sure they won’t mind at all," she insisted, shaking her head. "So, I’ll see you at lunch, then?" He nodded before turning in for the night.

When she’d gotten inside, her mother, luckily, had fallen asleep on the couch. This made for an easy getaway to her room, though to be kind, she left her mother a note on the coffee table telling her she had returned safe and sound from her walk. Thankfully, though, it was only ten o’clock by the time she got back…she’d only been gone about an hour and a half. Ruth was used to her daughter going out for long walks, as much as she despised the idea of a young woman walking around alone at night. But Rose was certainly resourceful. That was without a doubt.

Before leaving for school that morning, Rose peeked through the bushes as she had the previous afternoon to see if she could catch Jack on his way out, thinking it would be a nice gesture to offer him a ride, but she didn’t see him. He probably just takes the bus or gets a ride from a parent, she thought, remembering back in the day when she had done the same thing. Well, back in the day as in the previous year…she’d received the red Saturn as a gift from her father after she got her license.

Rose finally pulled into a parking spot, turning off the engine, and stared ahead of her for a few moments in silence. The idea that she’d actually considered committing suicide was still fresh in her mind, and she wasn’t sure if she wanted to tell Joanna or Meg about it yet. She would have to tell them about her break-up with Cal…that would clearly be a huge rumor going around the school, and she preferred her friends to hear the truth before it became too distorted to tell whose story was correct. She would also have to warn them about Jack’s joining them for lunch, which Joanna would no doubt tease her over. She could hear her friend’s voice, clear as day. See? You see? I knew you’d like him, Rose! I knew you two would be perfect for each other!

"Oh, damn," Rose breathed, smacking her hands against the steering wheel, and blew out her breath. It was 7:30, and school began at 7:45, followed by morning announcements. She opened the door, shut it behind her, and then grabbed her backpack out from the backseat before making her way to the building.

"Hey!" Rose turned to see Joanna breathlessly running towards her, her long dark hair down, but with a single braid along one side. "I—tried—calling you—last night," she panted, clutching at a stitch in her side as they pulled open the door to the new building, "but your mom said you’d gone out."

Rose wet her lips, nodding. "Yeah…I needed to clear my head and didn’t get back until at least ten."

"I was wondering why you didn’t call me back," Joanna teased, nudging her friend’s arm playfully. "So, is everything okay?"

Rose gave her a smile. "Oh, yeah, everything’s fine. I did, however, meet up with…hey, Meg!" Rose caught her other friend standing by the stairs and then caught up to her.

"I didn’t want to get up this morning," Meg grumbled as they made their way to their chemistry class. "Why does school have to begin at 7:45? It’s an inhumane hour of the day, I think!"

Joanna flung her hands in the air. "High school in general is inhumane!" she exclaimed, receiving a dirty look from a nearby security guard. Rose snickered, apologizing for her friend as they dashed inside the classroom, which was slowly filling up. Mr. Horton was at the desk, poring over his usual paperwork, and merely gave a humph when they greeted him before taking their seats.

"So, what were you going on about earlier?" Joanna whispered as they took out their books and notebooks, and Meg cocked her head to one side, a confused look on her face.

"What?" she whispered, and Rose crossed her legs.

"I was saying," she began, "that I met Jack last night."

Both girls gasped, and it took a lot of willpower for Joanna not to squeal with excitement right there in the classroom. Instead, she slapped her hand over her mouth, her eyes dancing. "Oh, Rose, I’m so excited! I knew you’d meet eventually, and oh, do you like him?"

"She’s dating someone already, in case you forgot, Jo," Meg replied, and Rose swallowed.

"Not anymore," she admitted, and her friends’ excited faces changed to shock.

"What do you mean?" Meg asked, glancing up at the clock, which read 7:44.

"I broke up with Cal last night," Rose whispered, after pausing for a moment or two, and Meg gasped.

"Oh, my God," she breathed. "Wow…how did he take it?"

Rose was about to reply when the bell rang and Mr. Horton told the class that it was time to start. She grimaced a bit and mouthed that she would tell them about it later, and turned her attention towards the teacher.

It seemed to take ages for the lunch hour to come along, though, and by the time it did, Rose was so nervous she hardly said a word until they reached the quad. "So, you never told us," Joanna whispered as they sat down and began to open their lunches. "How did Cal react to your breaking up with him?"

"Oh, he was furious, of course." Rose sighed, unwrapping her sandwich and setting her bottle of water beside her. "But I couldn’t take it anymore. He’s been such an asshole to me for the past few months. My mom wasn’t happy about it, though."

"Not happy about the break-up?" Joanna asked, opening what Rose recognized as sushi, but Meg wrinkled her nose at the miniature tire-shaped pieces of raw fish, rice, and seaweed mixed together. "Why would your mom…"

"Joanna, what is that?" she asked, and just at that moment, Rose looked up to see a familiar figure coming towards them.

"It’s sushi. Duh!" Joanna scoffed. "Don’t tell me you’ve never heard of sushi before!"

"Well, of course, but I’ve never seen it…and ew, isn’t it raw fish?"

"Um…guys?" She cleared her throat, and both girls looked at her. "I…er…invited Jack to eat lunch with us today. I hope you guys don’t mind," she added as Meg’s mouth opened and closed stupidly.

"S-sure," Joanna stuttered, and Rose hopped to her feet, hurrying to greet him. Jack looked exhausted at first glance, and she frowned at the dark circles under his eyes when he got closer.

"Hey, Jack. Are you all right?" she asked, frowning deeply. "You look really wiped out."

"Yeah." Jack sighed. "Hey," he greeted Joanna, and smiled shyly at Meg, who gave him a single, awkward, wispy wave.

"Hey, Jack. There’s plenty of room." She giggled, and Rose rolled her eyes, allowing him to sit on the opposite side of her.

"So, what’s going on?" Jack asked as Joanna offered the sushi to him.

"Jack, you seem like the adventurous type. Go on. Try a piece," she insisted, and Jack blinked.

"What?" He laughed, and Meg snorted.

"Sushi. Joanna is trying to prove to me that it’s good, but I don’t believe her."

"You don’t have to if you don’t want to," Rose told him, giving her friends a warning look.

"No, I’ll give it a shot." He set his lunch down, his appetite not quite what it used to be. He accepted a piece of raw salmon, his stomach churning at the thought of eating anything, but he took a bite anyway. The group watched as he wrinkled his nose, not quite sure what to think.

Rose started giggling at that point, and he swallowed, licking his lips. "I…well, I guess it’s an acquired taste," he told Joanna. "It…um…" He coughed. "It wasn’t bad, but I don’t know." He shrugged, and Joanna turned to Meg with a smug expression on her face.

"Jack tried it. Now you have to."

"No way!" Meg squealed, leaping up as Joanna pretended to chase her with it.

Rose rolled her eyes, leaning towards Jack. "Ignore them," she whispered, and he smirked.

"I’ve known them since kindergarten," he replied, as Joanna and Meg burst into laughter and began talking about something else. "So, how are you doing today?" he asked in a quiet voice, not sure if she had told Joanna and Meg about the incident on the cliff. She shrugged, smiling softly.

"Better because of you, Jack. I wanted to thank you for what you did, by the way. I don’t know what I was thinking."

He smiled, nodding. "My pleasure. Sometimes your brain goes into hyperdrive when you’re upset. I’m glad I got there when I did."

She nodded. "Me, too. So…" She smiled. "Joanna told me you’re interested in art."

Jack took a sip of his Coke, trying his best to nibble at his lunch. "Yeah. I’ve been drawing since I was a kid…it’s just something I love to do."

"I’m not much of an artist." Rose chuckled. "But I do love looking at art. I love Monet and Picasso, that type of thing."

Jack nodded. "Me, too. Sometime I’ll have to bring over my book of sketches and show you what I’ve done. I have hundreds, and my parents still have some of my artwork hanging on the fridge from when I was five or whenever."

Rose snickered. "My mom never did that, but my dad did." There was a hint of sadness in her voice as she mentioned her father, but Jack didn’t want to press into what the reason for it was. "So, have you been living here for your entire life?"

Joanna and Meg were whispering to each other now, peeking at Jack and Rose, who were clearly unaware of the fact that their friends were watching.

"Let’s leave them be," Joanna hissed, and Meg gave her a look.

"We can’t just get up and go without saying anything," she replied, and Joanna gave a dramatic sigh, interrupting the conversation. Jack and Rose glanced at her in surprise, and she practically lifted Meg up by the scruff of the neck.

"Well, we’ll let you two have some privacy," she explained, and Rose snickered under her breath. "I’ll call you later, Rose. Okay?"

"Okay." Rose laughed, waving as the girls dashed off to the other side of the quad. Jack raised his hands in confusion, and Rose shook her head.

"Never mind. So, where were we?"

"You asked if I lived here my whole life," Jack repeated, and Rose nodded.

"Yeah."

"Yep. I know it pretty much like the back of my hand," Jack admitted, and Rose folded her arms.

"Even the wilds," she pointed out. "I was terrified out there all by myself."

Jack shrugged. "It’s not so bad once you get used to it. I love just sitting on that cliff and staring at the hills. It’s hard to believe all the construction the developers keep doing."

Rose shook her head with a groan. "Too much of it. They ruin everything that’s beautiful in the world."

"I’m a member of the Sierra Club," Jack explained. "I’ve always had a fascination with the environment, and I think the area is getting too crowded. The animals will not have anywhere to go soon, and then they’ll die off."

Rose glanced up at the sky and watched as several kids ran past her, laughing and talking in loud voices. She checked her watch and found they still had a good fifteen minutes left before it would be time to head to class again. "When I was younger," she began, "my grandmother and I used to walk around the fields and look at the flowers. I loved picking them and bringing them home for my mother." Those were the days, she thought sadly. There had always been a bit of distance between herself and her mother, which began a long time ago. She had a closer connection to her grandmother, and had been devastated when she died.

"Oh, this is getting depressing, Jack!" Rose finally laughed. "Let’s talk about something else. Tell me about basketball. Are you on the team here at Perris, or do you just play for fun? You seem pretty good. I was watching you the other day." She wanted to point out the several bruises she’d noticed and ask how he got them, but she felt that was a bit awkward.

She also noticed that Jack hadn’t touched his lunch, which surprised her, because boys his age were usually living garbage compactors with how much food they scarfed down in one sitting.

"I’m on the team," he said. "I also like to play with my friends." He didn’t add that he’d been surprised to pass the physical after all the years of illness when he was a child. "We’re not that good. The girls are the ones who win all the games for the school." He winked. "So, do you…work or anything?"

Rose nodded. "I work at Sam’s Club."

"No kidding?" He grinned. "You must gain some pretty decent muscles, lifting all of those heavy things!"

She giggled. "See if you can tell," she whispered, flexing her arms. Jack touched her biceps and nodded with a smirk.

"Impressive. My parents have a membership, but we really don’t shop there much anymore. Maybe I can snag it off of them and come to visit you one day. When do you work usually?"

Rose took a final sip of her water and screwed on the cap. "I usually work Thursday through Sunday. But I don’t have long hours…maybe three or four a day. It’s not so bad, and I love my co-workers. Do you work?"

Jack shook his head. "No, I don’t. That’s cool, though." He was about to say something else when the bell to end lunch rang, and Rose groaned. The last thing she wanted was to endure another three hours of classes. She was enjoying Jack’s company immensely, and bitterly wished she’d found someone like him before Cal. However, her mother would probably have never allowed it, as Jack wasn’t in their social class. Not that it mattered to Rose in the least.

"You hardly ate anything, Jack," she pointed out, as he crumpled up his sandwich bag. "Are you feeling okay?"

He stiffened, tossing the trash into the can a few feet away. "I’m fine. I’m just not that hungry," he replied in a cool voice, which told her to get off of that subject immediately.

"All right." Rose wet her lips. "Well, I guess I’ll see you later, then." She swung her backpack over her shoulders, grunting at the weight.

"How about if I see you after work on tonight? Maybe we can go out to dinner and you can come over my house. We can watch movies or something. My mom and dad would love to meet you, I’m sure."

"Do you drive?" Rose asked, and Jack nodded. "Oh! I didn’t know." She smiled. "I was looking for you earlier this morning, and was hoping to offer you a ride to school."

He shrugged. "I actually overslept and missed my alarm." He grinned. "So, what time do you work ‘til?"

"Seven. I work 3:30 to seven," she replied, and he grinned.

"Great! I‘ll see you then."

Rose nodded. "Well, maybe I should give you my phone number before you go. My mom usually keeps our name out of the book." She grabbed a notebook from her bag and tore a piece of paper from it, jotting down the information. Jack accepted the sheet and then gave her a small hug.

"It was nice to see you again, Rose. I’ll talk to you later."

She felt her heart fluttering madly as she watched him hurry away, and it took her a minute or two before she could gather her wits and follow him.

Chapter Six
Stories